Download - Virtuous Leadership

Leadership Character & Virtues Ethics

Ron Joyce Centre, April 25, 2014

A Road Map

Rick D. Hackett

1. Context for focus on Leader Character

2. What is Character?

3. What is leadership?

4. Role of Character in leadership effectiveness

5. Virtues of effective leaders

6. Leader virtues and the “contagion effect”

7. Building and sustaining a virtues-laden culture

Context: Spotlight on Character

Rick D. Hackett

WorldCom, Enron

Crumbling textile factories in Bangladesh

Pratt & Whitney’s Exporting of Military software to China

Failure of TD Bank to report suspicions on a Florida Ponzi Scheme

Brazeau, Duffy, Wallin,

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford

Resignations by MP Bev Oda, Premier Alison Redford

Journal retracts articles of prominent ethics researcher

Admiration

Rick D. Hackett

Think of the person in your lifetime that you most admire and aspire to.

What is it about that person that you admire?

What attributes come to mind when thinking of this person?

What is Character ?

Rick D. Hackett

Seldom do people say, rich, powerful and famous! Character is what we want others to admire in us Building character = building foundation of who you are It is exemplified in the way people think, feel and act Reflecting one’s core values …and comprised of one’s virtues

Character

Rick D. Hackett

Resilient

Courageous

Compassionate

Respectful

Persevering

Fair

Benevolent

Prudent

Wise

Trustworthy

Integrity

Humble

Self-disciplined

Decisive

Empowering

Consultative

Honest

Authentic

Attentive

Temperance

Loyal

Tolerant

Spiritual

Considerate

What is Leadership?

Rick D. Hackett

Process of social influence, getting things done through others

Ideally toward an end promoting the common good Reflecting shared values Emerging from confluence of competence, the situation

and character

Lapses in character is much more difficult to repair (trust) than an incidence of incompetence!

No leadership without followership!

Rick D. Hackett

Influence = power

Power sources: expertise Authority/position Coercion Referent (Character-based)

But, how to achieve sustainable influence of a non-transactional basis

Character Based Leadership: How it works!

Rick D. Hackett

Role Modeling Moral identity:

Moral ownership Moral efficacy Moral courage

Building a “Virtuous Organization”

Rick D. Hackett

Amplifying Effect: Escalating positive effects

Buffering Effect: Inoculation against adversity

Virtuousness is self-reinforcing and fosters resiliency against negative and challenging obstacles.

Overtime, recognition and rewarding virtuous behaviour builds a strong normative culture: of respect, helpfulness

and enjoyment, fueling a self-reinforcing spiral that builds social capital

Virtues, culture and performance

Rick D. Hackett

Abundant research shows exposure to unexpected acts of goodness (virtuousness) triggers affiliative behaviour – a

tendency to repeat the good deeds, thereby building social capital

People are more helpful to others after being induced to feel positive emotions, thereby priming the very prosocial

behaviours that build social capital

Social capital is premised on trust, which is nourished through acts of virtues, reducing transaction costs, building

loyalty, community, shared values, knowledge sharing, org performance

Aristotle: Virtues Ethics and Eudemonia

Rick D. Hackett

Virtues reflect character strengths, comprising one’s moral identity, and that give rise to moral agency

Virtues are strengthened through self-learning and repetitive practice (habituation)

Virtues are voluntarily and behaviorally expressed and are contextually embedded

Expression of virtues in the extreme (either too little, or two much, is not a good thing).

Virtues form a unified whole – moral compass

Virtues

Rick D. Hackett

Watch your thoughts, they become words;watch your words, they become actions;watch your actions, they become habits;watch your habits, they become character;watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

Virtues and leadership effectiveness

Rick D. Hackett

Prudence

Courage/fortitude

Temperance

Justice/Fairness

Humanity/compassion

Truthfulness/integrity

Wisdom/knowledge

Transcendence/spirituality

An Evidenced Based Approach

Rick D. Hackett & Gordon Wang

Hackett & Wang (2012): Developed Virtuous Leadership Scale Administered to 230 leader-follower pairs Across manufacturing, public administration, oil, gas,

business services Leaders independently rated reports on job performance

and citizenship behaviours Reports rated their leaders on virtuous leadership scale

Example survey items


My leader/supervisor expresses concern for the misfortune of others

My supervisor/leader resolves conflicts in a fair and objective fashion

My supervisor/leader leads fundamental change though it may entail personal sacrifice and personal risks

My supervisor/leader is a careful custodian of organizational resources

Results


Virtuous leadership predicted: Subordinate’s job performance Subordinates’ citizenship behaviours Leaders’ self-reported happiness Leaders’ self-reported life satisfaction Subordinates’ happiness Subordinate’s life satisfaction

So, virtuous leadership positively predicts the well-being of both leaders and their followers, and the performance and citizenship of reports (employees)

Accumulating independent research

Rick D. Hackett

Virtues-based leadership positively predicts: Empowerment Organizational identification and commitment Moral identity Organizational citizenship behaviours Employee trust in leader Subordinates’ psychological and physical well-being Executive performance, as rated by board members Firm profitability (organizational virtuousness scale)

An action plan…

Rick D. Hackett

Selecting: Decisions: reference checks, background checks, Behavioral situational interviewing Situational simulations/work samples Some companies resorting to social networking analysis

Shaping/developing Position descriptions with built in accountabilities Orientation and workshops, case analyses, review of

behavioral examples of virtues as expressed in the workplace

Reflect character in performance reviews – discuss not only what was accomplished, but how it was accomplished

Supporting and Nourishing Culture


Link goals and aspirations of the organization with its principles and values

Link virtuous behaviours to value creation & protection

Managers and Supervisors “must walk the talk”

Recognize and reward individuals for virtuous behaviours

Create culture in which ethics and values of the organization are discussed, understood and reflected in actions of employees at all levels

Tie performance to values and ethics

Four Seasons Hotel


What we believe

Our greatest asset, and the key to our success, is our people. We believe that each of us needs a sense of dignity, pride and satisfaction in what we do. Because satisfying our guests depends on the united efforts of many, we are most effective when we work together cooperatively, respecting each other’s contribution and importance.

Four Seasons Hotel


How we behave

We demonstrate our beliefs most meaningfully in the way we treat each other and by the example we set for one another. In all our interactions with our guests, customers, business associates and colleagues, we seek to deal with others as we would have them deal with us.

Q & A


Thank you!